Terrell Suggs’ Impassioned, ESPN-Televised Defense Of His Quarterback Is A Stroke Of Genius

Dan Fogarty

10:35 am, January 18th, 2012

There’s a lot of great things about Terrell Suggs‘ blazing, on-air fortification of Joe Flacco’s psyche: the citing of Flacco’s playoff record (an important stat you may have forgotten), the fact that he’s a defensive guy coming to the aid of an offensive guy (which is rare), the general I-Will-Eat-Your-Face-If-You-Disagree-With-Me nature of it all (this is a locker room speech, given without a uniform). But perhaps the best part of Suggs’ ESPN-televised defense of his QB is its timeliness.

Of the quarterbacks left in the playoffs, Flacco is the weakest by far. For the Ravens, this wouldn’t be an issue — they’ve won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer — except that Flacco is having a bit of a crisis of confidence right now (his limp stat line against Houston last week: 14 of 27 for 176 yards). And heading into an AFC championship game in Foxboro is not the best time to have a crisis of confidence. The crowd can get loud. Picks can be thrown. Field position can be lost.

Suggs, like you and I, heard that soundbite. So now he’s saying what Flacco needs to hear: You are our guy. You’ve won before. There’s a reason you’re not sitting on the couch. And if Pretty Flacco goes 20-25 for 300 this weekend, Suggs is your Defensive Psychiatrist of the Year.